If you go to the CPSC website, and search star dry heads you will see that they are recalled.
The terms voluntary recall and mandatory recall are different only in the following manner: In a voluntary recall, the manufacturer willingly recalls the sprinkler such as the case with Tyco. In a mandatory one, such as the case with Reliable concealed heads, the manufacturer is sued by the CPSC and forced by court order to recall. That is my understanding, as one who is not a lawyer. Past aside, today it is clear that recalled components must be replaced. As for being forced, I once leased an apartment which had recalled fire sprinklers. The manager refused to replace them when I informed him/her of this condition. After I filed a complaint in court asking the court to mandate their replacement, the owner promptly replaced them before the trial date. NFPA 25 aside, there are various arguments for replacing that involve liability and if I receive damage while lodging in a hotel with recalled sprinklers (as a result of recalled sprinklers) I'm suing the owner and then the AHJ, and owner and others can argue before a judge who probably won't care about their reasoning anyway. Forest Wilson Project Manager Cherokee Fire Protection Co. 3195 Dayton Xenia Rd Ste 900 Dayton OH 45434 ph: 937-376-2333 fx: 614-455-4324 cell: 937-307-5647 . Visit our blog: www.cherokee-fire.blogspot.com NOTICE: The information contained in this email is intended to be solely for the use of the named individual or entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise confidential. It is not intended for transmission to, or receipt by, anyone other than the named addressee (or a person authorized to deliver it to the named addressee). It should not be copied or forwarded to any unauthorized persons. If you have received this electronic mail transmission in error, please delete it from your system without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by reply email or by calling Cherokee Fire Protection Co. at 888-347-3079 toll free. -----Original Message----- From: George Church <for...@ptd.net> To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Sent: Fri, Sep 18, 2009 1:28 pm Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas Apples and oranges. I mentioned the Star dry pendent recall to a (cheap) nursing home owner years ago. He asked if he was REQUIRED to replace them. To the best of my knowledge, and I checked with the AHJ, DOH; no, you're not. He didn't. I don't believe this was a MANDATED recall under federal law, and it was, I believe, before the Omegas. So the man did nothing wrong in the eyes of the law. And even if I'd told the local AHJ, DOH, and the President of the UAS there was nothing any of them could have done to force him to change them out. The point of doing a main drain test in a building with Omegas, GBs, or whatever is simple: a) you're fulfilling contractual requirements if you contracted to do ITM work. b) Just because a certain % of sprinklers are faulty doesn't mean ALL of them are faulty. I imagine numerous fires were controlled, and many lives saved, by Omegas and GBs that DID operate properly. c) An unsprinklered night club with huge fireloading on the walls- a clear and present danger to life safety, especially in an assembly occupancy- is quite different than an economic decision WITHIN the law by the nursing home operator. Legal obligations are what we contract to live up to, but MORAL obligations? If I'm a devout Catholic, am I bound to report what I see as MURDER of unborn infants to the police as a murder in progress if I see an abortion clinic? Are they bound to arrest them for MURDER if the responding officer is a member of the same parish? I think the DA would have his butt and rightly so- the law allows these abortions, no matter what YOUR MORAL outlook on it may be. They are bound to enforce the LAW, not their own viewpoints; the posted speed limit, not their opinion of what it should be because their nephew lives on that street and plays along the road. When I see horrible installations, am I bound to report them if I think they are a threat to life safety? I'm not a registered design professional, so in that arena I'm not entitled to an opinion, even if the obvious is clear. I don't know what went on behind the scenes. We don't live in a perfect world or residential sprinklers would have been installed everywhere following the release of the first 13D edition a generation ago. We installed a system in a new building with NO water supply save the FDC. AHJ acknowledged that in a couple years water will be run past the site and that'll be when they are connected to a supply. So after our acceptance test, do I call the AHJ back and report a clear and present danger at the site we just went thru acceptance testing? He won't pay attention to the call I may make because the situation IS untenable somewhere and I elect to call. I called the hotel manager in Savannah where we stayed in an unsprinklered wing of a hotel on the FEMA list incorrectly, to report they should take themselves off it, and move the trash cans from in the stair tower. I called the Savannah FD to report obstructions in the egress stair ONLY WHEN the hotel manager did not call me back. I called FEMA and had them remove them from the list when the hotel manager didn't call back. But I gave the responsible party a chance to cure it themselves before calling the AHJ. And what is scarier is that no one else on the committee bothered to report the problem to FEMA or the hotel, to the best of my knowledge. So I'm a more vocal person than many others, but I still follow a procedure that in my mind makes sense and is how I'd like someone to treat me should there be a problem with one of our installations, one of our installers, etc. and allow me the opportunity to correct it myself. So I do the same with others. George Church Rowe Sprinkler -----Original Message----- From: sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org [mailto:sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org] On Behalf Of Forest Wilson Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 12:54 PM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas The Inspection Forms from the NFSA have a section for noting recalled components. I note them and send a certified letter, copying the Fire Marshal. There is a moral obligation to report recalled heads and what point is there in doing a main drain test in a school or nursing home if all the sprinklers are recalled? The AHJ mentioned previously that allows recalled heads to save the owner money should consider the night club fires. The inspectors went to jail. Forest Wilson Project Manager Cherokee Fire Protection Co. 3195 Dayton Xenia Rd Ste 900 Dayton OH 45434 ph: 937-376-2333 fx: 614-455-4324 cell: 937-307-5647 . Visit our blog: www.cherokee- fire.blogspot.com NOTICE: The information contained in this email is intended to be solely for the use of the named individual or entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise confidential. It is not intended for transmission to, or receipt by, anyone other than the named addressee (or a person authorized to deliver it to the named addressee). It should not be copied or forwarded to any unauthorized persons. If you have received this electronic mail transmission in error, please delete it from your system without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by reply email or by calling Cherokee Fire Protection Co. at 888-347-3079 toll free. -----Original Message----- From: George Church <for...@ptd.net> To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Sent: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:55:48 -0400 Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas The liabilities we ITM contractors can inadvertently inherit are HUGE and especially so when you look at the minimal amount of revenue we get for taking on this risk. The #25 committee has done a good job of understanding and limiting it for us, but contractors doing ITM MUST understand what you can and cannot put on an inspection form. The standard means of addressing items outside the scope of #25 but relevant is, as Bobby mentioned, a letter (certified makes sense) to the owner SEPARATE from the ITM report(s). We inspect buildings as an agent of the OWNER and if you go outside that cont ractual relationship, you can end up paying dearly for it. We're putting 100,000 SF retail complex back in service after 10+ years of being turned off. It came to the BCO's attn when a spkr guy doing a small fit-out discovered the system was off, and rather than advise the Owner, he called in the BCO. I assume the spkr guy was working for a GC, and don't know if the GC was working for the tenant or the Owner. But the Owner's rep got a certified letter with a Notice to Vacate in 10 days, called us to handle it, and from what I heard back from my foreman on site, the original spkr guy not only didn't get the service work we ended up with, but he got booted off the fit-out, too. I'm not privy to much else and don't really care- we're doing between 10 and 20 years of tenant improvements, backflows on all risers (was a tank and pump; had city run in, connected, but not placed in service 2 yrs ago), and whatever else may come up. Plus the chances of the original sprinkie getting additional work is slim, but they're very happy with us. We were able to get him a 60 day continuance on the Vacate Notice within 3 days of the initial call, so the new FA system has time to get installed before the revised deadline. Another reason mandatory ITM by the AHJ isn't such a bad idea. 100k retail complex with no working AS, no FA, no smokes, pulls, nada zip. Can't say the Owner was right, but glad we were able to a) help him out and b) 3 or 400 labor hrs of work in a bad economy. glc -----Original Message----- From: sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org [mailto:sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org] On Behalf Of Larrimer, Peter A (CEOSH) Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 10:41 AM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas That's great John, the way NFPA 25 has been rewritten, the ITM folks are not obligated to tell (and evidently some teaching out there is actually discouraged them from telling) the owner that they have recalled Omegas in their building for fear of getting sued . Won't get many replaced even with you requesting an official copy of the NFPA 25 report from the Owner. Something's broke there don't you think? Peter Larrimer, PE Dept. of VA -----Original Message----- From: sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org [mailto:sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org] On Behalf Of John Drucker Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 10:32 AM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: FW: Chewable topic.....Omegas While we're sharing jurisdiction info, As adopted by the NJ Uniform Fire Code, N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, 901.9 & 901.6.2 901.9 Recall of fire protection components. Any fire protection system component regulated by this code that is the subject of a voluntary or mandatory recall under federal law shall be replaced with approved, listed components in compliance with the referenced standards of this code. The fire code official shall be notified in writing by the building owner when the recalled component parts have been replaced. 901.6.2 Records. Records of all system inspections, tests and maintenance required by the referenced standards shall be maintained on the premises for a minimum of three years and shall be copied to the fire code official upon request. John Drucker, CET Fire Protection Subcode Official Fire/Building/Electrical Inspector Fire Marshals Office Borough of Red Bank, NJ -----Original Message----- From: sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org [mailto:sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org] On Behalf Of Bobby McCullough Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 7:26 AM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas Georgia requires inspection reports to go to the AHJ. We are still under 25-2002, so including a recalled sprinkler is outside the scope of 25. The AHJ may make the owner change the sprinklers, but until the state adopts the 2008 standard I'm leaving recalls off reports. Listening to the AFSA web seminar yesterday reinforced the concept of keeping a 25 report strictly on 25 issues. We occasionally find Omegas and info rm the owner outside the 25 report. The certified letter sounds like a better way to go. Sending reports to insurance companies sounds like a good plan. Enforcement would be tough. I've heard from AHJs in the metro area they receive very few inspection reports and, to my knowledge, enforcement is sparse. Bobby McCullough Atlanta Sprinkler Inspection -----Original Message----- From: sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org [mailto:sprinklerforum-boun...@firesprinkler.org] On Behalf Of Forest Wilson Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 5:22 PM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas Some states, such as Illinois and Florida require copies of Inspection Reports to be sent to the AHJ. If the owner gets upset because the Fire Marshal is informed of recalled heads then the owner is not the ideal customer anyway. The AFSA had a guidline on how contractors should deal with recalled heads uncovered during an inspection and I believe it recommended sending a certified letter to the owner informing him of the presence of recalled heads. What I do is send the letter and copy the Fire Marshal. Fortunately contractors in states like Illinois and Fla have a legal obligation to copy the Fire Marshal and the owner can't legally complain when its done. The NFPA 25 Committee has considered requiring inspection reports to be ent to the Insurance Company but has not reached agreement on that proposal. Local and state requirements to send reports to the AHJ have the same effect of helping to ensure that deficiencies are repaired. Forest Wilson Project Manager Cherokee Fire Protection Co. 3195 Dayton Xenia Rd Ste 900 Dayton OH 45434 ph: 937-376-2333 fx: 614-455-4324 cell: 937-307-5647 . Visit our blog: www.cherokee-fire.blogspot.com -----Original Message----- From: Thom McMahon <tmcma...@firetechinc.com> To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Sent: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:48:53 -0600 Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas Once more we are put in the position of "Sprinkler Police" for the f ire marshal and fire inspectors by the IFC. If we report Omega installations to the fire marshal, how happy is the owner with us? If we simply tell the owner he is supposed to tell the fire marshal, and he doesn't what liability does that give us? How long are we allowed to ignore the owners failure to do what's "required"? Doesn't much matter which route you chose, if the building has a fire before the replacement is done you'll be making an appearance in court. Thom McMahon, SET Firetech, Inc. 2560 Copper Ridge Dr P.O. 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